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TYLER 
A  discourse  commemorative  of  Rev* 
Lewis  S^bin* 


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7260 

S13T8 


(Sal3) 


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DISCOURSE 

COMMEMORATIVE  OF 

Rev.  Lewis  Sabin,  D.  D., 

PREACHED  AT  HIS  FUNERAL, 

IN 

TEMPLETON,   MASS., 

JUNE  11,  1873, 


EEY.  W.  S.  TYLEE,  D.  D., 

Williston    Professor  of   Greek   in  Amherst   College. 


SPRINGFIELD,  MASS. : 
CLARK    W.     BRYAN    AND    COMPANY. 

1873. 


^^^tssoJ^/ 


Templeton,  Mass.,  June  16, 1873. 

Prof.  W.  S.  Tyler — Dear  Sir:   At  a  regular  meeting  of  the  Church, 

the  Church  voted  to  instruct  the  Clerk  of  the  Church  to  request  a  copy  of 

the  Sermon  preached  by  you  at  the  Funeral  of  Bev.  Lewis  Sabin,  D.  D., 

for  publication.     In  accordance  with  that  vote,  I  now  request  a  copy  of 

the  Sermon  preached  by  you  at  the  Funeral  of  Rev.  Lewis  Sabin,  D.  D., 

for  publication.     We  feel  that  its  publication  will  not  only  give  Dr.  Sabin's 

numerous  friends  much  satisfaction,  but  that  it  will  be  the  means  of  much 

good. 

In  behalf  of  the  Trinitarian  Church  in  Templeton, 

A.  H.  MERRIAM,  Clerk. 


Amherst  College,  June  18, 1873. 
Mk.  a.  H.  Merriam,  Clok  of  the  Trinitarian  Church  in  Templeton — 
Dear  Sir:  The  Sermon  preached  at  the  Funeral  of  Rev.  Dr.  Sabin,  of 
which  the  Church  so  long  under  his  pastoral  care  request  a  copy  for  publi- 
cation, was  written  under  an  unusual  pressure  of  private  and  public  duties, 
and  is  very  far  from  coming  up  to  my  conception  of  the  subject  and 
the  occasion.  But  I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  disregard  the  wishes  of  the 
Church,  especially  when  accompanied  with  an  expression  *of  their  belief 
that  it  will  not  only  give  Dr.  Sabin's  numerous  friends  much  satisfaction, 
but  will  also  be  the  means  of  much  good.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  I  can 
find  time  so  far  to  revise  the  manuscript  as  to  make  it  legible,  I  will  send 
a  copy  for  publication,  hoping  that  it  may  accomplish,  in  some  measure, 
the  end  for  which  it  was  asked. 

Yours  very  truly, 

W.  S.  TYLER. 


DISCOURSE. 

••-• 

Actsxi.24. 
For  he  was  a  good  man  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith. 

This  is  the  description  which  inspiration  has  given  of  one 
of  the  earliest  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  who  had  the  honor 
of  introducing  the  apostle  Paul  into  the  ministry  to  the 
Gentiles,  and  was  himself  honored  with  the  name  of  an  apos- 
tle, and  whose  wise  counsels  and  faithful  labors  were  greatly 
blessed  in  the  growth,  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  apos- 
tolic churches.  His  biography  is  brief,  as  it  is  recorded  in 
the  Acts.  He  was  a  Levite,  born  in  Cyprus,  (that  beauti- 
ful island  of  the  Mediterranean,  whose  very  name  by  which 
it  was  known  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  was  associated  with 
an  extraordinary  devotion  to  the  corrupt  and  corrupting  wor- 
ship of  the  goddess  Venus);  but  according  to  tradition  he 
was  brought  up  a  fellow  disciple  of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  in  the 
school  of  Gamaliel,  in  Jerusalem. 

His  first  appearance  in  sacred  history  is  soon  after  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  when  he  sold  his  landed  property,  (whether  in 
Cyprus  or  at  Jerusalem  we  are  not  informed,)  and  brought 
the  money  and  laid  it  at  the  apostles'  feet.  His  Jewish 
name  was  Joses  or  Joseph.  But  from  this  time  he  is  known 
by  the  name,  ever  since  familiar  and  dear  to   the  Christian 


6 

church,  of  Barnabas,  which  signifies  the  son  of  consolation  or 
the  son  of  exhortsition,  or  prophecy,  which  was  given  him 
by  the  Apostles  as  a  surname  of  honor,  and  doubtless  also 
as  a  characteristic  designation.  Whether  it  designates  his 
power  as  a  prophet,  or  inspired  teacher  and  preacher,  or  that 
tender  and  sympathetic  nature  which,  guided  and  sanctified 
by  the  Spirit,  made  him  the  chief  minister  of  the  comforts  and 
consolations  of  the  gospel  to  the  early  Christians,  it  is  not 
important  for  the  church  to  know  ;  in  either  case,  it  is  a  high 
and  honorable  distinction.  Chrysostom,  the  golden-mouthed 
orator  and  Father  of  the  Church  says,  he  was  a  mild  and 
gentle  person,  and  a  son  of  consolation  because  he  was  so  full 
of  sympathy  and  love.  The  next  we  know  of  Barnabas,  he 
meets  Saul  of  Tarsus  at  Jerusalem  after  his  conversion,  essay- 
ing to  join  himself  unto  the  disciples.  When  they  were  all 
afraid  of  him  and  believed  not  that  he  was  a  disciple,  Barna- 
bas took  him  and  brought  him  to  the  apostles,  and  declared 
unto  them  how  he  had  seen  the  Lord  in  the  way,  and  how 
he  had  preached  boldly  at  Damascus  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
According  to  the  tradition  to  which  we  have  already  alluded, 
and  which  perhaps  receives  some  confirmation  from  the  cir- 
cumstances narrated  in  the  Acts,  Barnabas  had  often  attempt- 
ed to  win  the  companion  of  his  early  studies  to  the  Christian 
faith,  but  in  vain  ;  and  meeting  with  him  at  this  time  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  not  aware  of  what  had  occurred  at  Damascus,  he 
renewed  his  efforts,  when  Paul  threw  himself  at  his  feet  and 
informed  him  of  the  heavenly  vision  and  the  marvelous  trans- 
formation of  the  blasphemer  and  the  persecutor  into  the  bold 
and  eloquent  preacher  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

When  the  gospel  was  first  preached  to  the  Gentiles  at 
Antioch,  and  a  great  number  believed  and  turned  unto  the 
Lord  ;  and  when  tidings  of  this  new,  and   according  to  Jew- 


7 

ish  ideas,  irregular  proceeding  having  come  to  the  church  at 
Jerusalem,  they  wished  to  send  thither  some  one  of  sufficient 
candor  and  discernment  to  report  the  truth,  and  at  the  same 
time  wisdom  and  weight  of  character  enough  to  harmonize 
all  the  conflicting  views,  Barnabas  was  the  man  whom  they 
chose  as  their  delegate  and  representative  on  this  important 
occasion.  And  the  reason  why  he  was  chosen,  and  why  his 
mission  was  so  successful,  is  contained  in  the  words  which  I 
have  selected  as  the  theme  of  this  discourse,  "  for  he  was  a 
good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith  ;"  and  the 
sacred  historian  subjoins,  partly  no  doubt  as  the  result  of  the 
character  and  influence  of  Barnabas,  "  much  people  was  added 
unto  the  Lord." 

No  sooner  had  he  accomplished  this  mission  than  he  sets  out 
on  what  was  in  those  days  and  in  that  part  of  the  world  a  long 
journey,  to  Tarsus  in  Cilicia  ;  finds  Saul  (preaching  the  gospel, 
doubtless,  in  the  place  of  his  nativity),  and  brings  him  to  Anti- 
och,  where  they  labor  together  a  whole  year  with  great  success 
for  the  edification  and  increase  of  that  mother  church  of  the 
Gentiles.  And  the  disciples  were  called  Christians  first  in 
Antioch.  From  this  time  Barnabas  becomes  the  companion  of 
Paul  in  his  journeys  and  missions.  Twice  he  goes  up  with 
him  as  a  delegate  from  the  church  at  Antioch  to  the  church 
at  Jerusalem — once  in  anticipation  of  a  predicted  famine  to  bear 
the  charitable  contributions  of  the  Christians  in  the  former  to 
their  poorer  brethren  in  the  latter;  .and  again  to  consult  the 
apostles  and  elders  in  what  is  often  called  the  first  Council  at 
Jerusalem  touching  the  perplexing  and  agitating  question  of 
circumcising  Gentile  converts,  and  thus  to  restore  harmony 
and  perpetuate  the  peace  of  the  two  great  branches  of  the 
Apostolic  Church.  Together  were  they  recognized  as  the 
apostles   of  the  uncircumcision  by  the  apostles,  elders  and 


8 

brethren  at  Jerusalem.  Together  were  they  ordained  with 
prayer  and  fasting  and  imposition  of  hands  by  the  church  at 
Antioch,  and  sent  forth  to  the  work  of  missions  to  which  they 
had  been  called  and  furnished  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Together 
they  go  forth  as  apostolic  missionaries  throughout  Cyprus  and 
Asia  Minor,  preaching  the  gospel  in  the  face  of  opposition  and 
persecution,  making  numerous  converts,  chiefly  among  the 
Gentiles,  founding  churches  and  revisiting  them  to  confirm 
and  establish  them  in  the  faith. 

A  diiference  of  opinion  and  feeling  in  reference  to  a  young 
companion  and  helper  in  the  work  at  length  led  to  a  separa- 
tion between  them.  But  the  result  was  only  a  doubling  of 
the  missionary  force  and  enterprise  ;  for  Barnabas  took  Mark 
and  sailed  to  Cyprus  to  continue  and  extend  the  work  in  his 
native  isle,  while  Paul  chose  Silas  and  went  through  Syria 
and  Cilicia,  which  was  his  native  country,  confirming  the 
churches.  And  the  epistles  of  Paul  show  that  so  far  from 
any  lasting  alienation,  Paul  cherished  the  highest  respect  and 
affection  for  the  companion  of  his  early  labors  and  conflicts, 
and  ere  long  again  associated  John  Mark,  the  nephew  of 
Barnabas,  who  was  the  occasion  of  their  separation,  most 
intimately  with  himself  in  the  trials  and  sufferings  of  his  later 
life. 

The  subsequent  history  of  Barnabas  is  unknown.  Some 
have  inferred,  from  incidental  allusions  in  Paul's  letters,  that 
they  became  again  fellow-laborers,  and  the  early  Christian 
Fathers  are  divided  or  undecided  in  their  opinions  on  the  ques- 
tion whether  it  was  Barnabas  or  Luke  of  whom  the  Apostle 
speaks  so  honorably,  as  "  the  brother  whose  praise  is  in  all 
the  churches."  The  probability  is  that  he  suflTered  martyr- 
dom early,  perhaps  in  his  second  missionary  tour  to  his  native 
island.     An  epistle  has  come  down  from  very  early  times 


bearing  the  name  of  Barnabas,  which  was  highly  esteemed 
by  the  Fathers  and  the  early  churches,  and  was  sometimes 
copied  and  preserved  on  the  same  parchment  with  the  epistles 
of  Paul  and  other  writers  of  the  New  Testament.  There  is 
something  very  beautiful  in  the  friendship  and  co-working  of 
these  two  apostolic  men  who  seem  so  unlike  in  their  consti- 
tution, temperament  and  native  character ;  but  who  for  that 
very  reason,  doubtless,  were  drawn  together  in  a  warmer 
friendship,  like  that  of  David  and  Jonathan,  and  were  only  so 
much  the  better  fitted  to  be  coadjutors  in  the  introduction  of 
Christianity,  as  Luther  and  Melanchthon  were  in  the  Refor- 
mation. German  commentators  and  divines  often  speak  of 
Paul  as  the  Luther,  and  Barnabas  as  the  Melanchthon  of  the 
apostolic  age. 

This  brief  scripture  biography  of  Barnabas  is  interesting 
and  instructive  in  many  ways.  It  is  given  quite  incidentally 
in  the  Acts,  as  a  mere  appendage  or  companion-piece  of  the 
life  of  Paul.  And  yet  it  shows  that  such  a  man,  though 
occupying  a  comparatively  subordinate  position,  yet  if  he 
possess  the  right  character  and  spirit,  may  be  largely  useful 
and  not  less  essential  than  his  superior  to  the  full  accomplish- 
ment of  the  divine  plan.  Although  far  inferior  to  Paul  in 
talents,  learning  and  influence,  and  filling  only  a  subordinate 
place  in  the  history  of  the  primitive  church,  Barnabas  recom- 
mended Paul  himself  to  the  acceptance  and  confidence  of  the 
apostles,  inducted  him  as  it  were  into  the  ministry,  and 
introduced  him  into  his  work  at  Antioch  as  the  apostle  of 
the  Gentiles.  Barnabas  was  an  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  less 
emphatically,  but  not  less  truly  than  Paul,  was  earlier  and 
more  literally  the  father  of  the  church  at  Antioch,  and  began 
sooner  if  he  did  not  contribute  more,  like  Melanchthon  four- 
teen centuries  later,  to  pour  oil  on  the  troubled  waters,  to 


10 

mediate  between  contending  parties  and  promote  peace  and 
harmony  in  all  the  churches. 

The  character  of  Barnabas  is  sketched  in  our  text  with 
even  more  brevity  and  conciseness  than  his  life.  It  is  drawn 
quite  incidentally  and  assigned  as  a  reason  for  the  part  he 
bore — bore  so  wisely  and  happily — in  the  establishment  of 
the  church  at  Antioch.  "  For  he  was  a  good  man,  and  full 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith."  Such  is  the  sacred  writer's 
description  of  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  useful  ministers  of 
the  primitive  church.  Not  much  like  the  recommendations 
of  ministerial  candidates  to  the  churches  now-a-days.  Not  a 
word  about  his  person  or  voice,  his  talents  or  eloquence,  his 
learning,  his  manners  or  his  accomplishments.  Not  an  allu- 
sion to  any  physical  or  intellectual  qualifications.  There  is 
reason  to  believe  that  he  possessed  superior  mental  and  per- 
sonal accomplishments.  When  the  superstitious  people  of 
Lycaonia  were  carried  away  with  the  impression  that  the 
gods  had  come  down  to  them  in  the  likeness  of  men,  and 
were  ready  to  offer  sacrifices  to  them,  they  called  Paul  Mer- 
curius,  because  he  was  the  chief  speaker,  and  Barnabas  Jupi- 
ter, doubtless  because  his  presence  and  personal  appearance 
corresponded  more  or  less  with  their  ideas  of  their  supreme 
divinity.  At  the  same  time  one  interpretation  put  upon  his 
name,  and  that  perhaps  the  most  commonly  accepted  by  mod- 
ern scholars,  implies  that  he  excelled  in  religious  exhorta- 
tion, and  possessed  the  gift  of  persuasive,  not  to  say  inspired 
eloquence.  But  the  graces  and  virtues  which  are  specified 
in  this  description,  are  all  moral  and  spiritual. 

The  first  specification  is  that  he  was  a  good  man.  The  last 
question  to  be  asked  or  answered  in  regard  to  a  candidate 
now !  Overlooked,  forgotten,  or  taken  for  granted,  or  asked 
and  answered  only   for  form's  sake  at  the   very  close  of  the 


11 

letter,  perhaps  in  a  postscript.  It  matters  little  which.  Per- 
chance, if  the  goodness  of  the  candidate  is  too  much  insisted 
on,  it  will  operate  as  an  argument  against  him,  just  as 
when  we  say  he  is  a  good  man,  it  is  inferred  and  sometimes 
meant  that  he  is  nothing  else,  and  therefore  of  very  little 
account — ^just  as  when  Macaulay  calls  Xenophon  a  good 
young  man,  he  means,  what  he  says  elsewhere,  that  he  was 
rather  a  weak  man.  Mankind  are  always  inclined  to  admire 
greatness  more  than  goodness,  to  prize  gifts  more  highly  than 
graces,  to  eialt  genius  and  talents  above  virtue  and  piety. 
This  natural  tendency  was  never  probably  more  exagger- 
ated than  it  now  is.  And  we  are  reaping  the  bitter  fruits 
of  this  perverseness  in  business  and  in  politics,  not  less  than 
in  morals  and  religion. 

But  the  Bible  completely  reverses  all  this.  It  sets  very 
little  value  upon  personal  attractions  or  intellectual  powers, 
but  makes  everything  of  character.  It  says.  Covet  earnestly 
the  best  gifts ;  but  there  is  a  more  excellent  way,  and  that  is 
charity,  in  other  words^  love,  goodness. 

The  first  qualification  for  a  minister,  or  a  member  of  Con- 
gress, or  for  any  other  oflficer,  civil  or  religious,  is  that  he 
should  be  a  good  man  and  true,  a  man  of  integrity  and  up- 
rightness, a  kind,  charitable,  benevolent  man,  a  true  Chris- 
tian, loving  his  neighbor  as  himself,  and  doing  to  others  as 
he  would  have  others  do  to  him.  Then  if  he  is  a  great  man 
too,  that  is  very  well.  Nay,  real,  substantial,  unchanging, 
and  unswerving  goodness  is  a  chief  element  of  greatness. 
Indeed,  it  is  the  only  true  greatness.  The  good  man  is  the 
only  great  man  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  and  just  in  proportion 
as  mankind  grow  better,  and  come  to  be  more  like  God,  he 
only  will  be  great  in  the  eyes  of  men  also. 

Besides  being  a  good  man,  Barnabas  was  full  of  the  Holy 


12 

Ghost.  This  is  a  favorite  expression  in  the  book  of  Acts. 
Some  of  the  early  Fathers  called  that  book  the  Gospel  of  the 
Holy  Ghost — and  very  justly — very  happily,  since  that  book 
narrates  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  rather  the  work  of 
the  risen  and  ascended  Christ  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
by  men  who  were  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  first  promul- 
gation of  the  gospel,  and  the  establishment  of  the  first  Chris- 
tian churches,  as  the  gospels  commonly  so-called  narrated 
the  work  of  Christ  on  earth  previous  to  his  resurrection  and 
ascension.  This  oft  repeated  expression  denoted  an  abun- 
dant communication  of  all  those  gifts  and  graces,  of  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  was  the  author  and  giver — power  to 
work  miracles,  power  to  live  a  Christian  life,  power  to 
preach  the  gospel  and  win  men  to  Christ.  In  this  sense 
the  apostles  and  some  others  in  the  apostolic  age  were 
80  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that,  agreeably  to  the  promise  of 
their  Lord,  it  was  not  they  that  spoke,  but  the  Holy  Ghost 
gave  them  what  they  should  speak  in  every  emergency — it 
was  not  they  that  lived  or  worked,  but  Christ  by  his  Spirit 
that  lived  in  them  and  worked  through  them.  It  was  this 
that  gave  the  feeble,  frightened  and  scattered  fishermen  of 
Galilee,  courage  to  preach  Jesus  to  his  murderers  as  the  only 
name  whereby  men  can  be  saved — wisdom  to  stand  before 
magistrates  and  kings  and  speak  what  none  could  gainsay 
or  resist — power  to  win  men  to  the  new  religion  by  hundreds 
and  thousands,  in  a  day,  and  in  a  single  generation  to  estab- 
lish prosperous  churches  in  all  the  chief  cities  of  the  Roman 
empire.  The  apostles  were  forbidden  to  enter  upon  this  im- 
mense work,  to  which  in  themselves,  they  were  utterly  inade- 
quate, till  they  received  power — the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
sent  down  from  heaven.  And  no  man  is  really  qualified, 
empowered  or  commissioned  to  preach  the  gospel  anywhere. 


13 

in  any  age,  till  he  has  received  this  power  in  large  measure 
from  the  same  crucified,  risen  and  ascended  Lord,  who  shed 
it  forth  80  copiously  upon  the  apostles  and  other  preachers 
of  the  gospel  in  the  apostolic  age. 

The  last  characteristic  which  our  text  ascribes  to  Barnabas 
is  that  he  was  full  of  faith.  He  could  hardly  be  otherwise, 
if  he  was  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  faith  is  the  first  fruit  of 
the  Spirit.  And  the  only  way  in  which  the  Holy  Ghost  could 
impart  to  him  courage^  strength^  power  of  any  kind  for  his 
work,  was  through  faith,  for  faith  is  not  only  the  necessary 
condition  of  salvation,  but  the  vital  element  and  living  essence 
of  all  moral  and  spiritual  power.  We  believe,  therefore  we 
speak,  therefore  we  act,  thus  we  live,  thus  we  conquer — this 
is  the  philosophy  of  all  great  achievements  in  business  even, 
in  society,  in  politics,  in  morals,  and  above  all  in  religion. 
Whenever  the  church  or  the  ministry  has  been  strono- — in 
the  apostolic  age,  in  the  reformation,  in  the  times  of  revivals 
and  missions — it  has  been  strong  only  in  and  by  faith.  And 
if«the  church  or  the  ministry  has  been  weak  in  any  age — if  it 
is  weak  now  anywhere — it  is  weak  only  because  it  has  lost 
this  primitive,  simple,  childlike,  undoubting  faith  in  the  truth 
and  power  of  the  gospel,  or  rather  in  the  truth  and  power  of 
God  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost  to  reconcile  and 
save  a  lost  world. 

Such  is  the  character  which  the  historian  of  the  primitive 
church  has  recorded  of  one  of  jthe  earliest  and  one  of  the 
best  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  the  apostolic  age.  It  is  well  for 
us  often  to  refresh  our  memory  of  such  characters,  for,  like 
all  scripture,  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  it  is  profitable  for 
doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  right- 
eousness, that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly 
furnished  unto  all  good   works,  and   that  the  people  of  God 


14 

may  know  and  remember  what  kind  of  ministers  the  Head  of 
the  church  chooses  and  will  own  and  bless.  And  this  les- 
son is  made  peculiarly  instructive  and  impressive  to  us  at 
this  time  by  the  circumstances  under  which,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  we  are  now  assembled.  For  if  I  mistake  not,  the 
brother  whom  He  has  taken  from  us,  was,  in  the  main,  and 
making  allowance  for  all  human  infirmities,  a  minister  of  this 
description.  Was  he  not  a  Barnabas,  a  son  of  consolation  to 
this  people,  among  whom  he  lived  and  died  ?  And  was  he 
not  in  the  estimation  of  all  who  knew  him,  a  good  man,  and 
full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith  ? 

Lewis  Sabin  was  born  in  Wilbraham,  Mass.,  April  9, 
1807.  His  father,  Thomas  Sabin,  an  industrious,  intelligent 
and  respectable  farmer,  is  still  living  and  in  comfortable 
health,  and  in  the  full  possession  of  all  his  powers  and  facul- 
ties, at  the  age  of  ninety  is  here  to-day,  to  follow  to  the  grave, 
a  son  who  had  himself  almost  reached  the  age  of  three  score 
years  and  ten.  His  mother,  Abigail  Sabin,  died  in  1857. 
She  was  a  woman  of  more  than  ordinary  intellect  and  excel- 
lence, uniting  in  herself  the  mental  capacity,  the  amiable  dis- 
position and  the  consistent  piety,  which  were  so  happily 
blended  in  the  character  of  her  son.  Both  his  parents  were 
exemplary  members  of  the  Congregational  church.  They 
had  five  children,  three  sons,  one  of  whom  was  a  minister, 
and  the  other  two  deacons  of  Congregational  churches,  and 
two  daughters,  both  church  members.  Of  these  children, 
Lewis  was  the  oldest. 

At  six  years  of  age  he  removed  with  his  father  to  Belcher- 
town.  Although  living  nearly  three  miles  from  the  center 
of  the  town  and  the  meeting-house,  and  often,  if  not  generally, 
obliged  to  walk  to  singing  schools,  lectures  and  religious 
meetings,  he  availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  for  mental, 


15 

moral  and  religious  improvement  which  the  town  afForded. 
He  became  a  member  of  the  church  at  the  age  of  thirteen. 
Having  mastered  the  three  R's  and  all  the  other  branches 
which  were  then  taught  in  the  public  schools,  and  gradua- 
ted with  honor  at  the  district  school  in  his  neighborhood,  he 
commenced  studies  preparatory  to  college,  with  Hon.  Myron 
Lawrence,  of  Belchertown,  and  completed  his  preparation 
under  Rev.  John  A.  Nash,  in  Hopkins  Academy,  Hadley. 

Entering  Amherst  College  at  the  inauguration  of  the 
"  Parallel  Course,"  so  called,  (which  allowed  of  the  substitu- 
tion of  the  modern  languages  and  the  physical  sciences  for  the 
mathematics  and  ancient  classics,)  he  was  not  carried  away 
by  the  novelty  or  the  popularity  of  the  new  curriculum,  but 
with  the  wisdom  and  conservatism  by  which  he  was  always 
distinguished,  he  chose  the  old  time-honored  course,  and  pros- 
ecuting it  entire  with  indefatigable  industry,  graduated  with 
the  highest  honors  of  one  of  the  largest  and  best  of  its 
more  than  fifty  classes — the  class  of  1831,  and  delivered  the 
Valedictory  Oration  at  Commencement.  I  doubt  if  he  was 
ever  absent  from  a  College  exercise.  I  know  he  never 
"  flunked,"  nor  "  ponied,"  nor  slighted  a  lesson.  And  his 
Christian  life  in  college  was  no  less  exemplary  than  his  life 
as  a  student.  After  his  graduation  he  was  the  standing  sec- 
retary of  his  class,  and  in  1866  he  published  a  seGond  edition 
of  the  history  of  this  class,  in  which  good  sense  and  good 
taste,  affection  for  his  classmates-  and  loyalty  to  his  Alma 
Mater  are  alike  conspicuous. 

On  leaving  college,  he  engaged  in  teaching,  as  principal  of 
Hopkins  Academy — then  a  popular  and  flourishing  institu- 
tion— where  he  continued  four  years,  excepting  a  part  of 
1832  and  1833,  which  he  spent  in  the  theological  seminary 
at  Andover.     While  teachinjx  he  continued  his  theological 


16 

studies  under  the  direction  of  that  sound  theologian  and 
excellent  pastor,  Rev.  Dr.  Brown,  of  Hadley.  In  August, 
1835,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Hampshire  Associa- 
tion, and  in  June,  1836,  he  was  ordained  and  went  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  the  eastern  townships  of  Canada  where,  sustained 
by  the  Association  that  licensed  him,  he  labored  chiefly  at 
Stanstead,  with  much  satisfaction  and  success  durinor  his  first 
year  in  the  Christian  ministry,  .  "  The  church  had  previ- 
ously been  nearly  broken  up  by  divisions  " — I  quote  from  a 
history  of  Stanstead  published  in  1861 — "  but  those  divisions 
had  been  in  a  measure  healed,  and  the  time  of  his  stay  forms 
one  of  the  brightest  pages  of  its  history." 

On  the  twenty-first  day  of  September,  1837 — at  the  age 
of  thirty,  in  the  full  maturity  of  his  powers,  and  with  no 
ordinary  treasures  of  wisdom  and  experience,  he  entered 
here  in  this  town  and  in  this  church,  upon  his  first  and  only 
pastorate,  which,  continuing  for  thirty-five  years,  was  termi- 
nated Sept.  24,  1872,  at  his  own  request,  and  with  the  reluc- 
tant consent  of  the  church  and  congregation.  The  history  of 
that  ministry,  its  scenes  and  events,  its  labors  and  results,  its 
sermons  and  lectures  and  meetings  for  prayer  and  conference, 
its  baptisms  and  marriages  and  funerals,  its  revivals  of  relio-- 
ion  and  stated  additions  to  the  church  and  seasons  of  special 
in-gathering,  its  public  services  and  private  interviews,  per- 
sonal conversations  and  visits  from  house  to  house,  these 
are  all  better  known  to  you  than  they  are  to  me.  Doubt- 
less, they  all  come  back  thronging  your  memories  and 
almost  rising  up  again  before  your  eyes  as  you  stand  around 
his  coffin  and  follow  his  body  to  the  tomb.  He  has  left  on 
record  his  own  recollections  and  impressions  of  them  in  his 
Quarter  Century  Sermon  and  his  Farewell  Discourse.  What 
a  record!    Four  thousand  sermons,  five  hundred  funerals! 


17 

What   a   work  !     Two   hundred    and   fifty-seven    additions 
to   the   church !     What   a   harvest !     Baptisms,    marriages, 
prayer  meetings   and  pastoral  visits  he    does   not  enumer- 
ate.    They  were  almost  too  numerous   to    mention.     And 
he  was  not  anxious  to  magnify  the  number  or  perpetuate 
the  memory  of  his   good  works.      The   labors  of  a  faith- 
ful  pastor   who   remains   twenty-five,    thirty-five,    forty  or 
fifty   years   with    the    same    people,    exceed   even   the   far- 
famed  labors  of  Hercules.      Those  were  but  twelve  in  all, 
with  long  intervals  of  ease  and  pleasure.     The  labors  of  a 
long   pastorate  run  on  from  a  quarter  to  half  a  century, 
day  and  night  without  cessation,  and  with  no  end  till  the 
end  of  life.     If  we  were  to  seek  a  parallel  for  the  life-work  of 
such  a  pastor  in  the  mythology  of  the  imaginative  Greeks,  it 
would  be  Atlas  who  was  fabled  to  support  the  heavens  day 
and  night,  year  after  year,  without  a  day  or  an  hour's  rest  for 
his  weary  and  heavy  laden  shoulders.     Well  did  an  eloquent 
preacher  turn  and  emphasize  the  language  of  the  Apostle, 
making  him  to  say  :  "  He  that  desireth  the  office  of  a  bishop 
desireth  a  work.'"     But  it  is  a  good  work.     The  rewards  and 
results  are  commensurate  with  the  labors.     So  Dr.  Sabin  con- 
sidered them.     So  he  found  them  to  be  in  his  own  experience. 
You  remember  his  testimony  both  in  his  Quarter  Century 
Sermon  and  in  his  Farewell  Discourse.     "  I  have  been  happy 
in  my  work,"  he  says,  "  and  happy  for  having  work  to  do, 
and  such  work  as  involves  the  highest  aims,  the  best  qualifi- 
cations, the  most  pleasing  and  delightful  duties,  and  brings 
richer  rewards  than  any  other  calling, — rewards  not  in  wages 
and  pecuniary   profit  beyond  other   professions  or   employ- 
ments, but  in  the  endearing  ties  of  affection  and  confidence, 
in  the  joy  of  winning  souls  to  Christ,  and  in  the  approving 
smile  of  the  Master."     There  have  been  at  least  four  seasons 
3 


18 

of  special  revival  during  his  ministry,  w^hich  were  emphati- 
cally harvest  seasons,  feasts  of  in-gathering,  times  of  refresh- 
ing and  rejoicing,  when  he  who  went  forth  weeping,  bearing 
precious  seed,  came  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves 
with  him.  Each  of  these  revivals  brought  an  addition  of 
twenty,  thirty,  thirty-five,  forty  members  to  a  church  which 
was  in  its  infancy,  when  he  came  here,  and  had  only  eighty- 
eight  members  at  the  time  of  his  settlement.  Besides  these 
special  in-gatherings,  there  were  additions  of  one  or  more  at 
almost  every  communion,  thus  making  up  a  sum  total  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty-seven  additions  and  a  membership  of  three 
hundred  and  forty-five  in  the  course  of  his  entire  pastorate, 
and  leaving  a  small  net  gain  aft«r  all  the  deaths,  dismissions 
and  fluctuations  incidental  to  churches,  especially  churches 
in  our  jmall  towns,  which  are  losing  rather  than  gaining  in 
population.  This  is  a  good  record,  and  owing  doubtless  very 
much  to  the  fact  that,  while  everything  else  has  been  chang- 
ing, and  the  people,  the  young  especially,  have  been  passing 
away,  the  pastor  has  held  on  and  the  pastorate  has  been  per- 
manent. '  I  believe  in  long  pastorates.  Dr.  Sabin  believed  in 
them  and  gave  good,  reasons  for  so  believing — reasons  which 
have  been  fully  justified  and  demonstrated  by  experience  in 
his  own  ministry,  and  the  history  of  this  church.  If  this 
long  pastorate  should  be  followed  by  a  succession  of  short 
ones,  with  perhaps  long  intervals  without  a  pastor,  (which 
may  God  forbid,)  it  will  not  take  thirty-five  years  for  you  to 
learn  by  sad  experience  how  much  you  have  been  indebted 
to  his  wise,  constant,  persevering  labors  for  keeping  you 
together,  a  united,  prosperous  and  happy  people.  I  bow  low 
before  any  man — it  is  a  remark  which  I  have  often  made, 
and  this  is  a  fit  occasion  for  repeating  it — I  bow  low  before 
any  man  who,  in  these  fast  and  changing  times  when  every- 


19 

body  is  running  to  and  fro,  has  remained  a  half  or  a  quarter 
of  a  century  the  pastor  of  any  church,  especially  a  country 
church,  and  above  all  a  snoall  church  in  a  small  town  which 
is  all  the  while  stationary,  perhaps  losing  in  wealth  and  pop- 
ulation. That  is  a  wise  man,  a  wiser  man,  and  a  greater  man 
too,  than  many  who  receive  such  loud  calls  from  the  gold 
and  silver  trumpets  of  our  great  and  wealthy  congregations. 
And  it  is  a  wise  people  that  have  the  good  sense  to  appreciate 
such  a  pastor,  and  the  steadfastness  and  the  Christian  princi- 
ple to  keep  him  as  long  as  he  is  willing  to  remain  with  them. 
There  are  few  more  beautiful  and  touching  passages  in  all  our 
Christian  literature  than  that  in  Dr.  Sabin's  Quarter  Century 
Sermon,  in  which  he  speaks  of  his  contentment  with  his  place 
and  work  in  this  pleasant  country  town,  his  peaceful  life  and 
abundant  labors  in  this  intelligent  and  attentive  congreoration, 
his  heartfelt  satisfaction  with  his  generous  and  confiding  peo- 
ple. "To  young  ministers,"  he  says,  "there  is  a  fascination 
about  a  magnificent  church  edifice  and  a  very  large  congre- 
gation which  sometimes  kindles  their  ambition  and  makes 
them  uneasy  in  their  humble  sphere.  I  can  think  of  college 
companions  and  competitors  filling  distinguished  places  in 
life,  and  of  this  and  that  friend  in  the  ministry  who  preaches 
to  as  many  people  on  one  Sabbath  as  I  do  in  five.  They  are 
worthy  men,  and  I  am  sure  they  are  faithful,  laborious,  able 
and  devoted  ministers.  May  God  bless  them  all.  I  do  not 
envy  them,  nor  covet  their  stations.  I  do  not  shrink  from 
work  and  responsibility.  But  I  say  with  the  Shunamite 
when  the  prophet  asked  her,  '  Would'st  thou  be  spoken  for 
to  the  king,  or  to  the  captain  of  the  host  ? '  And  she  an- 
swered, '  I  dwell  among  mine  own  people.' " 

'But  Dr.  Sabin's  work  and  influence  were  by  no  means 
confined  within  the  limits  of  his  own  parish.     As  a  leading 


20 

member  of  the  School  Committee  he  has  rendered  invaluable 
service  to  the  public  schools.  The  town  of  Templeton  has 
had  no  better  adviser  than  he  was,  in  town  affairs  and  pub- 
lic interests.  As  he  was  never  afraid  to  exercise  his  right  of 
suffrage  as  a  citizen,  so  he  never  hesitated  to  express  his 
opinion  in  any  matter  that  concerned  the  general  good,  and 
his  opinion  was  not  only  heard  with  attention,  but  always  had 
great  weight  in  the  decision  of  the  question.  All  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  town,  without  distinction  of  sect  or  party,  have 
found  in  him  a  true  friend  and  wise  counselor,  a  good  neigh- 
bor and  a  peace-maker.  Neighboring  churches  sought  his 
advice  in  all  their  difficulties,  while  their  young  ministers 
have  looked  up  to  him  as  a  father.  He  was  never  absent 
from  meetings  of  the  Association,  and  never  failed  to  perform 
his  part  in  the  exercises.  For  many  years  he  was  almost  the 
standing  moderator  of  the  numerous  councils  to  which  he  was 
so  often  invited.  The  college  where  he  was  educated,  and 
which  in  1857  conferred  upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity,  in  1862  elected  him  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  ;  and  no  member  of  that  Board  has  been 
more  reliable  than  he  for  constant  attendance,  wise  counsel 
and  devoted  service.  "  I  shall  miss  him  greatly  at  our  annual 
and  our  special  meetings,  where  I  expected  always  to  see 
him,  and  always  leaned  on  his  good  sense  and  practical  wisdom 
for  counsel  and  support."  So  said  President  Stearns,  when  he 
heard  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Sabin.  And  the  prayer  which  he 
offered  at  morning  prayers  in  the  chapel  this  morning,  when 
we  were  about  leaving  to  attend  the  funeral,  showed  how 
much  he  felt  his  own  loss  and  the  loss  of  the  college,  and  how 
earnestly  he  desired  that  it  might  be  sanctified  to  officers  and 
students. 

Deeply  interested  in  whatever  concerns  the   welfare  and 


21 

progress  of  mankind,  and  keeping  himself  acquainted  with 
passing  as  well  as  past  events  in  human  history,  he  labored 
to  inspire  his  people  with  an  intelligent  interest  in  the  cause 
of  universal  liberty  and  philanthropy  as  well  as  Christianity. 
By  precept  and  by  example,  he  inculcated  a  missionary  spirit 
with  such  success  that  his  church,  though  neither  large  nor 
rich,  has  contributed  during  his  pastorate  not  less  than  twenty 
thousand  dollars  directly  to  the  several  forms  of  missionary 
work,  while  it  has  had  also  living  representatives  in  the  mis- 
sionary fields  of  our  own  country  and  of  other  lands.  At  the 
same  time  with  equal  courage  and  prudence  he  went  before 
his  people  as  their  spiritual  leader  in  the  moral  conflicts  of 
our  age  and  country  against  intemperance,  slavery  and  the 
great  rebellion,  and  to  his  influence  the  town  is  largely 
indebted  for  its  noble  record  of  heroes  and  martyrs  in  the 
late  war. 

Nor  is  the  catalogue  of  his  labors  and  services  complete 
without  adverting  to  some  of  a  more  personal  and  partly  secu- 
lar kind.  Mr.  Sabin  was  an  indefatigable  worker  and  a  dis- 
tinguished scholar,  and  like  the  leading  pastors  of  the  last 
generation  he  turned  his  untiring  industry  and  his  high 
scholarship  to  good  account  by  sometimes  taking  private 
pupils.  One  of  the  best  services  which  he  rendered  to  his 
beloved  college  was  by  consenting  to  take  into  his  family  and 
under  his  instruction  students  whom,  for  bad  conduct  or  poor 
scholarship,  or  because  they  did  not  know  what  else  to  do 
with  them,  the  Faculty  were  obliged  to  send  for  a  few  weeks 
or  months  into  the  country.  Hence  the  parish  and  parsonage 
of  Dr.  Sabin  became  familiarly  known  in  college  by  the  face- 
tious but  classical  name  of  "  the  Sabine  Farms."  Nor  did  the 
young  men  themselves  fieel  under  less  obligations  to  the  good 
Doctor  and  his  excellent  wife  than  the  college.     They  always 


22 

came  back  saying,  they  had  not  only  had  good  instruction 
and  good  care  and  keeping,  but  they  had  had  a  good  time. 
It  is  only  a  few  days  since  that  one  of  them  who  now  occu- 
pies a  high  position  under  the  very  eaves  of  the  college  said 
to  me  :  "  It  was  about  the  best  thing  Amherst  College  ever 
did  for  me,  when  she  sent  me  to  spend  six  months  under  the 
roof  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sabin." 

There  was  one  thing  in  which  Dr.  Sabin  went  beyond 
even  the  old-fashioned  country  minister  of  former  genera- 
tions. He  wrote  wills,  settled  estates,  took  care  of  widows 
and  orphans,  and  if  he  could  not  be  considered  as  the  lawyer 
and  justice  of  the- town,  he  at  least  in  no  small  measure  super- 
seded the  necessity  of  any  lawyer  or  justice  of  the  peace  in 
this  community.  Perhaps  he  might  be  said  to  have  been  the 
physician  also  of  the  place,  since  by  precept  and  example  he 
contributed  so  largely  to  the  health  of  the  neighborhood,  and 
while  he  almost  never  had  occasion  to  call  the  doctor  to  his 
own  house,  did  all  he  could  to  help  his  neighbors  dispense 
with  the  doctor's  services.  He  deemed  it  his  duty  to  take 
care  of  his  health.  He  thought  it  his  duty  to  take  care  also  of 
his  property.  And  he  did  take  as  good  care  of  his  property 
as  of  that  which  was  entrusted  to  him  by  others.  It  is  often 
charged  upon  ministers  that  they  know  nothing  about  busi- 
ness and  are  destitute  of  worldly  wisdom.  They  are  some- 
times as  ignorant  but  not  as  innocent  as  children  in  such  mat- 
ters. But  no  man  who  knew  Dr.  Sabin  would  lay  this  to 
his  charge  any  more  than  on  the  other  hand  they  would 
reproach  him  with  being  an  unspiritual  and  worldly  minded 
minister,  who  took  better  care  of  the  salary  and  the  parson- 
age than  of  the  pulpit  or  the  parish.  By  his  practice  as  well 
as  his  preaching  he  taught  his  people  that  economy  is  a  virtue, 
the   handmaid  of  charity  and  the  helper  of  piety — a  lesson 


23 

than  which  there  is  scarcely  another  which  we  so  much  need 
to  learn  in  our  age  and  country.  And  by  economy  and  good 
management,  although  his  salary  was  only  six  hundred  dol- 
lars and  never  exceeded  a  thousand,  he  had  a  comfortable 
livelihood,  and  gradually  accumulated  a  property  which  made 
him  and  his  family  independent  of  his  salary.  In  short.  Dr. 
Sabin  might  have  sat  for  every  line  and  almost  every  stroke 
of  that  charming  picture  of  the  country  pastor  in  Goldsmith's 
Deserted  Village. 

A  man  he  was  to  all  the  country  dear, 

And  passing  rich  with  forty  pounds  a  year. 

Bemote  from  towns  he  ran  his  godly  race, 

Nor  e'er  had  changed  nor  wished  to  change  his  place ; 

Unskillful  he  to  fawn,  or  seek  for  power. 

By  doctrines  fashion'd  to  the  varying  hour ; 

For  other  aims  his  heart  had  learnt  to  prize. 

More  bent  to  raise  the  wretched  than  to  rise. 

Thus  to  relieve  the  wretched  was  his  pride. 

And  e'en  his  failings  leaned  to  virtue's  side  ; 

But  in  his  duty  prompt  at  every  call, 

He  watch'd  and  wept,  he  prayed  and  felt  for  all ; 

And  as  a  bird  each  fond  endearment  tries, 

To  tempt  its  new-fledged  offspring  to  the  skies, 

He  tried  each  art,  reproved  each  dull  delay, 

Allured  to  brighter  worlds  and  led  the  way. 

I  have  no  time  to  analyze  his  character.  Nor  is  there 
any  need  of  it.  There  was  no  mystery  about  it,  no  sham  and 
no  disguise  in  it.  He  appeared  to  others  just  what  he  ap- 
peared to  you,  and  he  appeared  to  you  just  as  he  was. 
Always  and  everywhere  he  was  the  same  living  impersona- 
tion of  good  cojmmon  sense,  sound  judgment,  solid  learning, 
orthodox  faith,  unwavering  Christian  principle  and  unerring 
practical  wisdom.  Without  any  of  those  brilliant  qualities 
which  dazzle  the  eyes  of  the  multitude,  he  had  that  perfect 


24 

balance  of  faculties  which  commands  the  unchanging  respect 
and  confidence  of  all  classes.  He  had  too  little  imagination 
and  emotion  and  too  little  action  in  the  comprehensive  sense 
in  which  Demosthenes  used  the  word,  to  shine  in  the  pul- 
pit, or  even  be  a  popular  preacher,  in  these  days  of  novels, 
romances,  magazines  and  sensational  sermons.  At  the  same 
time  in  all  the  earlier  part  of  his  ministry,  no  man  was  more 
acceptable  in  his  own  or  more  welcome  in  all  the  neighboring 
pulpits  than  Dr.  Sabin.  And  he  was  always  a  model  pastor. 
He  was,  as  one  of  his  ministerial  neighbors  lately  expressed 
it,  a  born  leader — born,  educated  and  trained  to  organize 
forces,  to  plan  and  execute  measures,  to  manage  private  and 
public  affairs.  With  the  love  of  Christ  and  the  love  of  souls 
uppermost  in  his  heart,  such  a  man  could  not  but  be  a 
model  pastor.  And  such  a  pastor,  who  at  the  same  time 
preaches  sensible  and  instructive  sermons,  although  without 
any  very  high  order  of  pulpit  eloquence,  cannot  but  be  a 
power  in  the  parish,  and  impress  himself  in  the  course  of  a 
long  pastorate  upon  every  person  and  every  thing  in  the 
community.  Dr.  Sabin  would  have  made  a  good  home  sec- 
retary of  one  of  our  great  national  benevolent  societies.  He 
had  many  prime  qualifications  for  a  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
in  the  National  Government.  And  I  have  sometimes  thought 
it  required  more  talent  and  tact,  more  wisdom  and  prudence 
to  manage  a  small,  poor,  feeble  country  church,  than  it  does 
to  govern  a  State  or  rule  over  a  great  nation. 

In  the  just  judgment  and  for  the  most  part  in  the  fitly 
chosen  words  of  another,  who  was  his  nearest  ministerial 
brother  for  eleven  years  :  "  He  was  not  brilliant  as  a  preacher, 
his  range  of  literary  reading  was  not  extensive,  but  his 
acquaintance  was  thorough  with  such  subjects  as  he  consid- 
ered   pertinent  to   his  ministerial    work.     His  treatment  of 


25 

subjects  assigned  to  him  in  the  meetings  of  the  Association 
was  always  satisfactory,  often  able.  He  had  a  logical  mind' 
and  rarely  took  a  position  that  he  could  not  sustain.  He 
rarely  made  mistakes  of  any  kind,  and  so  was  always  felt  to 
be  a  safe  adviser  in  matters  of  difficulty.  If  he  erred  at  all 
in  such  matters,  it  was  by  excess  of  caution  rather  than  in  the 
opposite  direction.  He  had  in  very  large  measure  the  confi- 
dence of  the  whole  community  in  which  he  lived,  a  majority 
of  whom  were  opposed  to  him  in  his  religious  views.  JFew 
minds  were  more  evenly  balanced  than  his,  as  was  shown  not 
only  in  his  treatment  of  themes  but  as  well  in  his  whole 
work.  He  neglected  none  of  the  interests  of  his  people  but 
cared  for  them — had  his  eye  everywhere,  and  thought  noth- 
ing of  too  little  importance  for  his  notice  that  affected  the 
welfare  of  his  parish  or  of  its  individual  members.  Patient, 
careful,  judicious,  far-seeing,  would  that  the  leading  traits 
of  his  character  were  more  common  and  better  appreciated 
than  they  are  wont  to  be." 

One  word  more  than  any  other  contains  the  main  secret 
of  Dr.  Sabin's  character  and  life.  He  was  faithful — faithful 
in  every  duty — faithful  to  every  trust.  He  was  complying 
and  obliging  just  as  far  as  he  could  be  consistently  with  his 
sense  of  duty,  but  no  further.  There  he  stood  firm  and  un- 
shaken. And  he  was  able  to  be  so  faithful  and  steadfast 
because  he  vf  as  full  of  faith.  His  firmness  was  the  result  of 
his  Christian  prineiple,.his  fidelity  was  the  fruit  of  his  strong 
faith.  He  believed  the  great  doctrines  of  evanorelical  Chris- 
tianity  as  the  truth,  the  whole  truth  arid  nothing  but  the 
truth.  He  believed  with  all  his  heart  what  he  preached, 
and  what  he  preached  he  practiced  more  perfectly  than  is 
often  done  by  our  imperfect  human  nature.  As  there  was  a 
rare  equilibrium  in  the  balance  of  his  faculties,  so  there  was 


26 

a  remarkable  consistency  and  a  beautiful  symmetry  in  his 
"  character,  and  the  priceless  value  of  such  a  character  is  the 
great  lesson  of  his  life. 

As  his  life  had  been  tranquil,  so  was  his  end  peace.  About 
four  weeks  previous  to  his  death  his  physician  informed  him 
that  his  disease  was  of  the  heart.  "  Then,"  said  he,  "  my 
hold  upon  life  is  uncertain  at  the  best,  and  it  may  be  very 
short."  Thereupon  with  characteristic  calmness  and  prompt- 
ness, he  began  at  once  "  to  set  his  house  in  order."  He  had 
a  long  conversation  with  his  wife,  and  though  she  was  at  first 
overcome,  his  calm  strength  helped  her  to  look  undaunted, 
as  he  did,  at  the  event  which  even  then  overshadowed  them. 
He  made  the  arrangements  for  the  funeral  service,  alluded  to 
the  lot — a  generous  gift  some  years  before  of  a  loved  parish- 
ioner— where  they  would  lay  his  body,  and  gave  directions  in 
regard  to  all  that  would  make  the  path  easier  for  her  who 
was  henceforth  to  walk  alone  in  her  earthly  pilgrimage.  A 
day  or  two  after  this  his  breathing  became  so  difficult  that  he 
could  say  but  little.  To  a  brother  in  the  ministry  he  remarked : 
"  I  have  no  ecstatic  views,  but  I  know  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth,  I  have  a  firm  trust  in  the  gospel  I  have  preached  to 
others,  and  there  I  am  willing  to  leave  it." 

A  friend  said  to  him :  "  As  you  draw  near  to  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death  and  feel  that  you  are  passing  into  it, 
how  does  it  look  to  you?"  "  Oh,"  said  he,  "no  shadows, 
no  shadows^  The  last  few  days  he  was  unconscious,  except 
at  short  intervals,  but  during  the  days  and  weeks  of  suffer- 
ing from  labored 'breathing,  not  a  murmur  of  impatience 
escaped  him.  At  six  o'clock,  on  Sunday  morning,  June  8th, 
he  passed  peacefully  and  sweetly  from  the  dawn  of  the  earthly 
Sabbath  to  that  of  a  Sabbath  which  will  know  no  evening: 
Write,  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord,  yea,  saith 


.  27 
the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors^  and  their 

WOEKS    DO   FOLLOW   THEM. 

Dr.  Sabin  belonged  to  that  old  school  of  country  pastors 
who  abounded  in  former  generations,  and  whom  they  delight- 
ed to  honor,  but  there  are  few  of  them  in  our  day.  Who  is 
there  left  to  fill  his  place  ?  How  can  his  loss  be  repaired  ? 
In  one  sense  his  loss  is  quite  irreparable.  No  one  can  fill  the 
chasm  which  his  death  has  created  in  the  memory  and  the 
affections  of  his  bereaved  wife,  his  sorrowing  father  and 
friends,  and  his  scarcely  less  afflicted  people.  No  one  else 
can  be  to  them  what  he  has  been — so  inwrought  into  the 
whole  history  of  their  private  and  public  life  for  almost  half 
a  century.  God  only  can  make  up  the  loss.  We  can  sym- 
pathize with  them.  We  can  and  will  pray  for  them.  But 
God  only  can  comfort  them  under  their  afflictions.  May 
she  who  sits  alone  and  a  widow,  and  yet  not  alone,  find  the 
blessed  and  holy  Comforter  very  near  her,  constantly  with 
her,  and  hear  the  same  Lord  and  Master  whom  her  husband 
loved  and  trusted,  and  who  stood  by  him  in  his  last  hours, 
saying  to  her.  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  ;  believe  in  God, 
believe  also  in  me.  In  my  father's  house  are  many  mansions  : 
if  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a 
place  for  you,  and  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will 
come  again  and  take  you  to  myself,  that  where  I  am  and 
where  he  is,  there  you  may  b©  also. 

May  his  aged  father  lean  upon  the  Lord  as  he  goes  down 
the  brief  decline  of  so  long  a  life,  and  pass  through  the  dark 
valley  finding  no  shadows^  and  assured  that  his  son  waits  to 
welcome  him  on  the  other  side.  And  may  all  the  relatives  see 
heaven  nearer  than  ever  before,  because  one  so  near  and  dear 
has  gone  thither  before  them.  May  the  God  of  all  grace  and 
consolation  also  comfort  the  hearts  of 'this  people,  impress  the 


28 

• 

truth  which  he  has  preached  indelibly  on  their  memories, 
cause  the  seed  which  he  h§s  sown  to  spring  up  even  more 
abundantly  after  his  death  than  during  his  life,  and  fulfill  his 
strongest  desires  as  well  as  your  best  hopes  by  giving  you 
another  pastor,  who  will  serve  you  and  the  Master  as  faith- 
fully, as  usefully  and  as  long  as  he  has  done.  And  may 
neighboring  churches  and  their  ministers,  all  of  whom  feel 
that  they  have  lost  a  father,  not  only  cry  after  him,  like 
Elisha,  over  the  translated  Elijah,  Our  father,  our  father,  the 
chariot  of  Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof,  but  may  they 
take  up  his  mantle,  and  receiving  a  double  portion  of  his 
spirit,  enter  with  renewed  zeal  and  courage  on  the  further 
accomplishment  of  the  same  work,  thus  each  in  their  meas- 
ure filling  up  what  is  behind  of  the  labors  and  sufferings 
of  Christ.  And  when  our  work  is  done,  may  it  be  said  of 
each  one  of  us.  He  was  a  good  man^and  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  of  faith. 


79-e>o 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


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